The charcuterie craze overtook Toronto restaurants less than five years ago, when an interest in local food and traditional methods drove chefs into back rooms to start making their own prosciutto, salami, bresaola, sopressata and sausage. In essence it's an expression of the cult of the pig, which began thriving when chefs sourced their own Berkshire, Yorkshire, Hampshire and Saddleback hogs, carefully finished with acorns, whey and grains. To most people, though, it's a plate of cold cuts and pickles.

Opening a restaurant without a well thought out wine list is tantamount to suicide for any establishment, so why is it still okay for bars to get away with the unholy trinity of Canadian, Coors Light and Heineken? I say it isn't. I crave variety, complexity; I want to be seduced by a lively bouquet of bitter hops and dark caramel malt, or a playful golden thirst quencher on a hot summer day. So, I went off in search of the establishments that feel as strongly as I do about god's nectar.

The best shawarma in Toronto comes down to who has the tastiest sauce, the freshest fillings and the juiciest meat. Done right and a shawarma can be the perfect cure for a hungry stomach. The basic recipe calls for a warm pita stuffed with tender pieces of chicken (or beef), creamy garlic sauce, crisp lettuce, refreshing tomatoes and an ensemble of pickled turnips, hot peppers and pickles.

In Toronto, good shawarma can be found east and west, north and south although, be forewarned, this list overlooks well deserved contenders on the city's fringes like Sababa and Me Va Me.

In Toronto, there are many places that claim to have the best jerk chicken in town. They don't seem to have necessarily been anointed by anyone (except maybe their chef or owner) so further investigation was needed to figure out where we really should be going to getting our jerk on.

Traditionally, jerk is served with rice n' peas and coleslaw. It's made by marinating chicken with a dry 'jerk' rub that varies from chef to chef but has at least two essential ingredients:

1. Allspice (pimento)
2. Scotch bonnet peppers (often mistaken for their relative the habanero pepper); then cooked over an open fire.

Additional ingredients used in 'jerk' rubs include cinnamon, nutmeg and thyme and often secret ingredients such as orange juice, lime juice and pineapple.

Dosas may not be ubiquitous in Toronto, but from Mississauga to Little India they're not tough to find. For the uninitiated, dosas are a typical South Indian staple consisting of crepes made from fermented rice and lentils, accompanied with sides such as sambar (a tangy lentil soup with vegetables) and various kinds of chutney (coconut, tomato, tamarind, mint). Outside of the restaurants themselves, they often make an appearance at summer festivals at Harbourfront and the annual Masala! Mehndi! Masti!

The best patios in Toronto isn't an easily derived list. Many factors come into play not the least of which are location, food options and what's on tap. There's also the type of patio - whether the preference is for something curbside that promotes people watching, a rooftop that's all about the sun, or the hidden back patio that helps us forget - if even just for a moment - we live in a bustling and smoggy metropolis.